great idea. Plug in hybrids mandated for Post Office fleet

[greenman3610]

The Plug-in Partners coalition has called on Congress to provide incentives sufficient to transition the US Post Office fleet to plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Austin, Texas Mayor Will Wynn, whose city leads the nationwide plug-in campaign now joined by more than 20 major cities, issued the call during a press conference at the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) in Austin.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/
http://www.pluginpartners.org/

[TheFarseer]

1. Yes!

I'm loving it. This needs to get huge! If we can get plug in Hybrids and get ethanol Brazil style, our energy needs are pretty much taken care of.

[Psephos]

2. One small problem...

If everyone is plugging in their cars, where is the extra electricity going to come from?

This is a serious problem. Electricity is priced on the margin (like oil), which means that the last kilowatt-hour of demand determines the price. For an example of what that looks like, think about California a few years ago...or current oil prices.

Development of alternative generation sources can help with increased demand, but cannot bear the full burden (or even a majority of it) if we switch from petroleum to electricity for transportation.

I'm a major fan of switching to electrics, but it's not a free lunch. The most likely result will be lots of new nuclear plants, along with a big uptick in alternatives like wind and solar, and to a lesser degree, natural gas.

France gets 80% of its power from nuclear already (the U.S. gets 20%) - looks like study of the French response would be instructive.

Peace.

[msongs]

3. most plug in would occur at night when there is surplus power

and especially late at night when there is minimal power useage.

of course it will increase absolute power demand overall. the point is to shift the car world away from gasoline
to other power sources, and electricity can be generated from many energy sources other than petroleum based fuels.

there is, in any event, no free ride except for gravity and that only goes downhill.

Msongs
www.msongs.com
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[papau]

4. Energy from a plant is 2 to 3 times cheaper than internal Comb. engine

Indeed we will need more power plants - but that is lieu of more oil infrastructure at prices that will rise without limit.

[TheFarseer]

6. More nuclear. more wind

end of problem. One day we will figure out how to use nuclear waste for energy and probably sooner than you think.

[Robb]

5. Shifting the problem, but a nice step

I recall just over half the nation's electricity comes from burning coal. :(